One of the genre markers of the Steampunk literary genre is the use of steam to power the technology and gadgets. From a personal viewpoint, one of the most elegant vehicles using steam power are the paddleboats or paddle steamers. I blame my delight in old musicals and ‘Showboat’, and reading too much of Mark Twain’s fiction as a child.

Mark Twain in Nikola Tesla’s Laboratory

As a tangent: Mark Twain isn’t considered a Steampunk author, but his story ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’ is certainly science fiction, using 19th century technology. The time-travelling engineer, Hank Morgan, is able to build up Medieval England into a passable imitation of Victorian England, with an education system, newspapers, steam and electrical technology. Mark Twain was friends with Nikola Tesla, one of the darlings of the Steampunk Community, and was fascinated by technology and innovation. It doesn’t take a great leap to connect Mark Twain to the Steampunk Genre.

Now back to our regularly scheduled posting.

Paddle steamers always make me think of swans. They both glide gracefully through the water, but both have a lot going on underneath to power that grace. And a paddle steam is a dangerous place if the engineer doesn’t know what he or she is on about, because boilers or pipes explode if not treated with respect; and swans can break a man’s arm with a blow from their wings. In Western culture, swans symbolise fidelity because they form long-term monogamous relationships. There are too many swan legends to list here, but any of them could be adapted as an analogy to use with a paddle steamer. As an added treat, Swan Hill, Australia, was a Paddle Steamer stop in the Victorian era, and you can still take paddle cruises from there to this very day.

The boiler of the Paddle Steamer ‘Mary Ann’

Plaque for the Mary Ann. Image from the Dirty Dazz website.

In a Steampunk narrative, a Paddle Steamer could symbolise freedom and adventure, or it could symbolise the need for education and discipline, depending on whether your character is a passenger on the paddle steamer, or a pilot or an engineer. The captain of a paddle steamer might seem like the captain of his own fate, but he dependant on the pilot to navigate the dangers of the river or the ocean, and the engineer to keep the paddles moving; now there is an analogy for teamwork if I ever saw one.

P.S. Lady Augusta and P.S. Mary Ann, at Swan Hill, Australia.

A Paddle Steamer would make a wonderful setting in any Steampunk narrative. I don’t know why they aren’t as popular as airships.

This post by inspired by the lunar eclipse. Can you see the Rabbit in the Moon? I don’t see a face, I see a child’s drawing of a rabbit.

One of my favourite Steampunk vehicles is a moon rocket. This is probably because I would have love to have been an astronaut. If they asked me, I’d be happy to be a Martian colonist or a passenger on a generation ship. To me, a rocket symbolizes the ultimate adventure, the exploration of space.

A rocket harnesses power. Like a locomotive, it isn’t a power that is easily controlled. It isn’t a coincidence that we talk about Rocket Science when we talk about something complex; it takes intelligence and training to pilot a rocket. It takes genius to conceive and build one. If not controlled, a rocket might explode, or spin off into the unknown depths of space. I can see where a rocket could be used as a metaphor for mankind’s explosion of technology, both dangerous and exciting.

Space is bigger and darker than any Dark Continent, and so can be a metaphor for your Heart of Darkness, or death, or even enlightenment (all those stars). Space is the ultimate unknown country. Sending a tiny rocket off into space is just as great an adventure as when explorers set off to cross unknown seas to find new lands. There is no guarantee you will return.

The Moon is an obvious target for exploration, so large and shiny and tempting. Did you know that the Earth and the Moon are actually a double planet? You can use the Moon to hold a ‘mirror’ to the Earth, contrasting one with the other for literary effect. Just because we know the moon is barren, doesn’t mean it has to be barren in your Steampunk narrative. You can turn it into any sort of planet that you like, and people it with exotic civilizations – a metaphor for colonialism. It may be that you want it to be airless and barren … to symbolize a barren heart or a sterile life. The phases of the moon could be used to reflect someone’s moods or to show the passing of time.

Better yet, the Moon has a dark side, always turned away from the Earth … a hidden, secret side. This duality of nature is a godsend to a writer! There is good and bad in every person and situation. Think of how easy it would be to use the Moon as a metaphor for the angel and the devil in each human being.

I’ve only lightly touched upon all the metaphors, symbolism and analogies that rockets and space might denote. I’m certain you can think of a dozen more without any effort.